Risk-taking
Posted: Sunday, April 17, 2011
by Sulagna Dasgupta
Love in India
Today I’m going to share a really funny story with you!
My notebook had run out of battery and so had had to suddenly shut down. Later when I switched it on again and tried to open Microsoft Word (in order to write this post!) I got a message saying something like it can only be opened in “safe mode” since the last time Word had closed it hadn’t closed properly etc.
For the benefit of the uninformed, this is what Word in “safe mode” looks like:
I couldn’t help literally laughing out loud when I saw how “safe” Word was with ZERO stuff going on!
And that made me think-isn’t the image above a ridiculously accurate depiction of the mental world of most of us? Safe in our own comfort zones? Totally, unquestionably safe? Warm and cozy in the kind of safety zero risk-taking and zero actions can guarantee us?
When it comes to creating what you call success, it all starts with taking the first step. And that is always an act of courage-of leaving your comfort zone, of officially acknowledging that you believe something is possible, of taking some risk by making investments in what you envision.
And that first step is freedom-freedom from fear, freedom from the irrelevant discouragement you’ve undoubtedly received from many of your “friends”, freedom from the possible disappointments that the thousand obstacles on your way could bring…That first step sets you apart from the millions around you (yes, while all of us have wishes, most of us don’t have dreams that we’re working to realize, and spend our lives in autopilot).
That reminds me of a favorite song of mine by ABBA. Here goes (well you know the lyrics already-the song’s crazily famous!):
“Every day in the morning on her way to the office
You can see as she catches a train
Just a face among a million faces
Just another woman with no name
Not the girl you'd remember but she's still something special
If you knew her I am sure you'd agree
'Cause I know she's got a little secret
Friday evening she turns out to be...
Nina, pretty ballerina
Now she is the queen of the dancing floor
This is the moment she's waited for…”
Most of the highly successful people today were just faces among a million faces one day. But what set them apart even that day were their “little secrets”-their dreams.
Any obstacle, any criticism, any complaints of your life as it is today, vanishes the moment you commit to a dream and make it into a goal. Your present ceases to exist and becomes just a way to the future as you envision it.
But how is it possible that I could be successful in this exam? Just 0.1% people make it. In fact my parents think I’d better be investing my time elsewhere.
Yes it’s true that I was thinking of starting my own venture in the XYZ space. But that industry doesn’t exist in this country, and naturally all my friends and well-wishers are helping me understand that I shouldn’t risk my money and efforts on this project.
Yeah…I loved chemistry. And to tell you the truth I’ve never been so happy and so motivated to study a subject. But that was in high school, in some long-forgotten days…Yes maybe it’s true that I’m not cut out for the business world, but now I can’t throw my prestigious MBA in the rubbish-had to beat half the country to get it, you see…spent a bit in the process too…
Does any of the above sound a bit like the dialogue you’ve been having with yourself for the last one and half years? Maybe five? Maybe ten?
If yes, think again. Are you letting your love of the status quo and safety it affords come between you and your dreams?
Sure-starting your dream venture is a risk. But what about spending a whole life of perpetual unhappiness and dying without even having tried? Isn’t that a colossal risk?
Sure, statistically speaking the chances of your gaining admission to Harvard Law School are much less than those of your failure in obtaining the same. And the chances of not even taking the first step towards your dream career?...
Like the Joker said, “Nobody panics when things go according to plan. Even if the plan is horrifying...” We tend to always accept the status quo as the lowest risk option. Think of that sister/cousin/friend of your who continues to tolerate her abusive husband as she thinks divorce is a “risk”.
Remember your first step is the most important step you’ll take in the path to your dreams. Yes, it’s a challenge. Yes, it’s a risk. Yes, it decidedly involves getting out of your comfort zone.
But don’t you know, deep down, that nothing that’s easy is ever worth achieving?
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Very motivating article with interesting quotes and real life examples :)Thank you for your comment Hyun.
I'm the happiest when people can actually put my writing to some use. Thanks again. :)
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